Nutritional Composition of Edible Insects Consumed in Africa: A Systematic Review.

Zabentungwa T. Hlongwane,Thinandavha C. Munyai,Rob Slotow

doi:10.3390/nu12092786

Zabentungwa T. Hlongwane, Thinandavha C. Munyai + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12092786

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Journal: Nutrients	Publication Date: Sep 11, 2020
Citations: 54	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: University of KwaZulu-Natal

Abstract

Edible insects are an important protein rich natural resource that can contribute to resilient food security. Edible insects not only play an important role in traditional diets, but are also an excellent source of protein in traditional dishes in Africa. We systematically searched Web-of-Science and Google Scholar from year 2000–2019 for studies on the consumption of insects and their nutritional composition in Africa, resulting in 98 eligible papers, listing 212 edible insect species from eight orders. These insects were rich in protein, fats, and fibre. The highest protein content was reported for Lepidoptera (range: 20–80%). Coleoptera had the highest carbohydrate content (7–54%), while Lepidoptera had the highest fat content (10–50%). Considering the excellent source of nutrition, and potential socio-economic benefits, from edible insects, they can contribute strongly to improved food security, and rural development in developing countries. In addition, edible insects can be used as a sustainable food source to combat food shortages in the future, for example, providing resilience during times of drought or other climate stressors.

Highlights

Consumption of insects has recently received more attention because of their promising potential for contributing to livelihoods and mitigating food security problems around the world [1,2,3].Food security problems are caused by an enormous increase in the global human population, which is estimated to increase to approximately 9 billion people by 2050 [1], resulting in a 70% increase in food demand, and an increase in food prices [1,4,5]
Edible insects are widely consumed in Africa, and play an important role in nutritious diets
This review reported combined nutritional data of consumed insects in Africa; this information can be useful to policy makers in the health and nutrition sector by including insects in food and nutrition policies

Summary

Introduction

Consumption of insects has recently received more attention because of their promising potential for contributing to livelihoods and mitigating food security problems around the world [1,2,3].Food security problems are caused by an enormous increase in the global human population, which is estimated to increase to approximately 9 billion people by 2050 [1], resulting in a 70% increase in food demand, and an increase in food prices [1,4,5]. Consumption of insects has recently received more attention because of their promising potential for contributing to livelihoods and mitigating food security problems around the world [1,2,3]. Entomophagy, which refers to the consumption of insects by humans, is an environmentally friendly approach to increasing food for consumption, and contributing to food security across the world [2,5,6,7]. Edible insects might be a solution to food shortages, owing to their promising potential in contributing to livelihoods and mitigating food security problems around the world [1,2,3]. According to van Huis [1], approximately 2 billion people worldwide regularly consume insects as part of their diets. The consumption of insects is not a new phenomenon, as it dates back to before the development of agriculture when humans relied on gathering plants and hunting wild animals [4,11,19]

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